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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

No-Churn Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate

Or adapt this easy no-churn recipe for any flavor you like

How often do you make ice cream at home? Until recently, our answer would have been “not very.”

Mostly, that was because we couldn’t get decent results with home ice cream makers. The smaller “pre-freeze” units (the ones where you need to freeze the bowl) only kinda sorta worked for us. The larger machines (the kind with built-in condensers) do a better job—or so we’ve heard. But our kitchen space is limited, so we’ve had to rule out that option. And no way are we going to bother with rock salt and hand cranks.

Which meant that for years, we just shrugged and bought Ben and Jerry’s.

No more, however. We’ve discovered a quick no-churn, no machine way to make ice cream that produces superior results. And it’s a lot cheaper than buying pints of Cherry Garcia® (our favorite flavor, for which this recipe is a credible alternative).

Anybody want to buy a used ice cream maker, cheap?

Recipe: No-Churn Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate

Not hankering for cherry ice cream? No worries. It’s easy to adapt this recipe to other flavors. So just think of this as a master recipe for no-churn ice cream. More in the Notes.

This recipe is cream-rich, so it isn’t diet food. But it’s so luscious, you’ll probably be satisfied with a smaller amount than you usually eat. It also uses sweetened condensed milk, which is just regular milk with much of the water removed and sweetener added. Milk and sugar are common ingredients in ice cream making, so using sweetened condensed milk is a quick way to mainline those ingredients into your ice cream base.

This recipe requires you to whip cream, which is easiest to do if you have a stand mixer. A hand mixer will work, but it takes longer. After you mix the ice cream, you’ll need to freeze it for several hours to develop proper consistency.

Mrs. Kitchen Riffs is the sweets maker in our house, and this recipe is her creation. She adapted it from a basic recipe she found in 100+ Luscious Ice Creams without a Machine, an e-book by Suzy Bowler (it’s a very entertaining cookbook, BTW).

This recipe takes about 20 minutes of hands-on time. Then you’ll need to let the mixture freeze for at least 3 or 4 hours (maybe more, depending on your freezer temperature).

The recipe yields about one quart, though it can easily be scaled up or down. Being us, we often double it.

Pit the cherries: Wash and dry the cherries and remove their stems. Use a cherry pitter to remove pits. (If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can push the pits out with a pastry tip, a paper clip that’s been straightened, or a chop stick. Or so I’ve read—we have a cherry pitter, so I haven’t had to experiment.) Chop the pitted cherries into halves. Set aside.

Chop the chocolate into small bits (a mini-food processor works well for this; see Notes). Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the almond extract and continue whipping until the cream forms stiff peaks (i.e., ones that hold their shape when you lift out the whisk).

Add the sweetened condensed milk (start with 3 ounces, then taste; if you’d like more sweetness, add another ounce; see Notes). Add the chopped cherries and the chopped chocolate. Gently fold the ingredients together until they are well mixed.

Pour the mixture into a shallow one-quart container (see Notes) and cover tightly with a lid.

Freeze the ice cream until it sets firmly (about 3 or 4 hours in our freezer, though your timing may vary).

Scoop and enjoy.

Notes

We like to use Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate baking bars (60 percent cacao) for this recipe. But any good-quality bittersweet chocolate should work.

How small should you chop the chocolate? That’s up to you, though we prefer small bits (maybe the size of sesame seeds). Anything larger can be hard to eat when frozen. We don’t recommend using chocolate chips, which are too big.

Sweetened condensed milk tends to be very, well, sweet. We suggest that you start by adding 3 ounces, then taste the mixture. If you want more sweetness, fold in another ounce.

In the US, sweetened condensed milk generally is sold in 14-ounce containers. So if you open a new can and have some left over after making this dish, just pour the remaining milk into an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will keep for at least a week, and probably longer.

You can freeze this ice cream in a container of any shape, though we find that shallow ones work best. They allow the mixture to freeze more quickly, which helps the ice cream maintain a smooth, creamy texture. Shallow plastic quart-sized containers work well.

You can adapt this recipe to make just about any flavor ice cream you like. Start with 8 ounces of whipping cream and 3 to 4 ounces of sweetened condensed milk, then go where your imagination leads you. Some suggestions to get you started:

For peanut butter ice cream: Add 6 ounces of peanut butter mixed with 3 ounces of powdered sugar (heat the peanut butter for a few seconds in the microwave if it’s too stiff to mix).

For rum ice cream, add 1½ ounces rum.

For rum-raisin ice cream—oh, never mind; you get the picture by now.

Rum, brandy, or other spirits make delicious additions to ice cream. But adding alcohol slows down the freezing process (and usually results in ice cream with a texture resembling soft serve—not that there’s anything wrong with that).

140 comments:

Ha ha -- Chubby Hubby! This is glorious -- I often make granitas since they don’t require digging into the lower cupboard for the ice cream maker but this looks fabulous for anyone who wants to dabble with ice cream and is short on space!

Hi Greg, never tried the KitchenAid attachment, and we were actually thinking about it when our KitchenAid of 30+ years died. We just assumed we'd buy another, but in looking around, actually preferred the Cuisinart mixer, so we got that. We get OK results with the ice cream freezers, but just OK. Much better results with this recipe, much to our surprise. Thanks for the comment.

Well, I know have a hankering for cherry ice cream. :) Love the combination of using cream with the sweetened condensed. I've added rum to cherry ice cream but never almond. What a nice twist to cherry ice cream! Thanks!

Loving the cherry ice cream, John! Perfect way to use in-season cherries. I have a similar recipe (with different fruit) coming up on my blog. I love this easy ice cream recipe. Who needs a freezer, right? Another great post! Thanks!

I tip my hat to Mrs. KR! Lovely recipe. I do have one of the frozen bowl kinds and find it works OK. But this sounds so much easier and it takes up less counter space. I also have a one quart container that is empty right now! I bet the condensed milk gives this a really nice texture. Thanks, John! but please let Mrs. KR know that I do love chubby hubby!

Hi John , this is an awesome ice cream recipe and so easy , cherries is in abundance here now and what a great idea to make this recipe with a fruit of the month . Thank Mrs. Kitchen Riffs for the recipe , now my kids can have all the wholesome ice cream they want . Jon the possibilities are endless . Thanks so much for sharing :)

Oh Dear John...you really do have a knack for offering up recipes that I'm dying to try!! This is so intriguing and I have no intention of changing the flavor (at least not the first time, I have a feeling I'll be making this often). Thanks so much for so many wonderful recipes and inspiration, reading your blog is always a joy!

As soo as I saw this recipe I was hoping upon hoping it was for Cherry Garcia, my very best favorite ice cream brand, ever!

I've thought about making ice cream through the years, even considered ice cream in a bag, but have just never gotten around to it. I wouldn't dare buy yet another appliance I swear I'll use and not! I am mighty tempted to try this though John. I have so many cans of sweetened condensed milk in the pantry. I really should give it a go. Mrs. K.R. has done an outstnading job adapting and fiddling. Thank her and thank you for sharing...

Hi Louise, this recipe really does work! And as written, it's pretty close to Cherry Garcia (maybe a bit better, IMO, but mainly because it's fresher, and you can use better chocolate). Thanks for the comment.

O what a great idea! I have one of those prefreeze things and indeed they sometimes work, but mostly not. So I make Popsicles which is always a winner! But this is just brilliant! Gonna try it for sure...

Hi John, your ice cream sound great and refreshing. Thanks for sharing your no churn ice cream. I do love homemade ice cream but I use food processor, a little tedious but worth it. The ice cream still turn out very smooth.

Hi John, I enjoyed your post very much as I am an ice cream freak and cherries are in season now. Love all kinds and flavors of ice cream. Your Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate is a marvelous recipe. I love how your notes give us tips. I have heard, (never tried it) that you can take the pit out of a cherry by pushing down a plastic straw over the pit. Have to try that someday.. I also enjoyed hearing from Mrs.Kitchen Riffs, she sounds like a blast.....Thanks for making me smile with delight, and now I have to try that recipe. Have a great day/night. Blessings Dottie :)

Hi Dottie, Mrs K R is indeed a blast! The straw tip for pitting cherries sounds interesting. Although a cherry pitter is probably the way to go if you do this at all often (even a couple of times a year). Thanks for the comment.

what a gorgeous,cooling treat....we won't mind large scoops of it for dessert even though it is raining...looks so beautiful....condensed milk and whipped cream is used to make Indian kulfi....and it turns out great without any ice-cream machine...so we bet this treat is creamy and melt-in-mouth perfect,thanks :-)

Oh boy! We must change that "not very" to more and more!I think the best invention of the last few years is the use of "no churn" ice cream. Brilliant and I've made a very good use for it. And I still don't have a cherry pitter; all by hand. Crazy!

Hi Dawn, we're definitely making it more and more! ;-) I have to admit a cherry pitter doesn't speed up the process of pitting cherries all that much; but it's a bit easier to use. Thanks for the comment.

We've got a new ice cream shop here that has been a very dangerous find.. but this is even more dangerous and tempting, I can make this at home and not have to drive to get it;) Love this recipe, the flavors and ease of making it is fantastic. Since I do have an ice cream machine, could I put it in there to speed up the freezing part??

Hi Smidge, this really is dangerous. But worth it. ;-) We haven't tried putting the ice cream in a chilled ice cream freezer tub after we've made it, but the idea sure sounds like it would work. I'll bet it would speed up the freezing. Definitely worth a try! Thanks for the comment.

You are going to give Ben & Jerry's a run for their money on this one. I had good results with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams book last summer, but I broke down and bought a small counter top ice cream machine with the bowl you stick in the freezer. I've never tried the kitchen-aid, but it's heating up around here and ice cream is better than a/c, he he. Hope all is well.-Gina-

Hi Gina, ice cream is definitely better than A/C -- although it's hot enough here that we'd die without the A/C. Those machines with the bowl you freeze do work, but this actually takes less time -- weird. Thanks for the comment.

I'm really surprised to hear you haven't had success with the little ice cream makers. I love my Cuisinart and find the results are way better than anything I buy in the store, pretty much. I keep my freezer reeeeaaaalllly cold (-6) so maybe that's why? Love the idea of using cherries!

Hi Laura, we have the Cuisinart too, and the flavors are better than most things we buy int he store. But the texture/consistency of the ice cream often is lacking (too much ice crystallization is a frequent problem, for instance). We have our freezer at zero -- maybe those extra degree really might make a difference! Thanks for the comment.

Hi Barb, maybe we need to work with our Cuisanrt some more, although we've had it a good 10 years or more and just have never been able to get the texture/consistency we want. Although maybe the newer models are better. Or maybe we're just incompetent. ;-) Anyway, this is good stuff! Thanks for the comment.

Funny! I just made ice cream today using an electric machine, and I was griping to my husband that I hate it cause the ice cream freezes so hard on the outside of the bowl. So this is perfect timing! Thank you so much! Your cherry garcia is perfection!

Hi Beth, actually Mrs K R made some of her salted caramel kind last night that we'll be serving to guests today. ;-) It's really easy -- just make some of your favorite salted caramel (the web is full of recipes, all basically the same). Let it set up, but when still on the soft side make your ice cream base, and mix in as much as you like. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

When we bought our house the previous owner left an ice cream maker. We've used it a few times, but it's a pain. I love this idea. I can't wait to try it with the nephews when they come. They've love it!!

I feel like I was drooling while reading your post. Love this ice cream, and it's even better we don't need an ice cream machine. I think it was 3 summers ago - I waited the whole summer deciding if I should buy a machine or not, and I bought it at the end of summer (so silly). I enjoy using it, but it does takes a big space to store, and we have to freeze the bowl 24 hours before... so I don't usually use it in winter time. I love this recipe that I can just make whip cream with a stand mixer and make ice cream. I would love to try this flavor first before trying next. Cherry and chocolate is a great match!

Hi Nami, ice cream machines really do take a commitment. As you say, it takes ages to freeze the bowl, than churning the ice cream isn't the fastest process. And then you need to freeze it anyway to firm it up. This is faster, easier, and I think the results are better. Hope you enjoy this! And thanks for the comment.

Hi Suzanne, although we love the combo of cherries and chocolate, some of the alternative flavors are really wonderful. But we've never met a flavor of ice cream we didn't like. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Yes! This looks delicious! I'm eagerly awaiting cherry season here (should be only a week or so) because I've been wanting to make a cherry ice cream so much! I love this idea of a no churn ice cream! I have the unit that attaches to my Kitchen Aid mixer and I like it a lot, but it can also be a bit of a pain.

John this recipe is wonderful. It never occurred to me to whip the cream first. Sweetened condensed milk is a favorite of mine - I have a serious sweet tooth. I will have to try this, then figure out how to make the ice cream chocolate. I wonder if adding melted chocolate to the cream would work, then whipping it.

I'm excited to try this. By the way years ago I taught an ice cream camp and I did the rock salt method among others and the rock salt method was very good. I do like my Cuisinart although I haven't used it in quite sometime.

Sorry for my delay post. I rarely get posts sent to me anymore so it becomes a challenge keeping up with everyone. Great post!

Hi VIcki, sorry you're still having trouble receiving email notifications of posts! It's a mystery -- there are others who aren't also, but most people are. So weird. Anyway, this method is really worth trying. And now that you mention it, I don't think we've made chocolate ice cream -- we'll have to try that! Thanks for the comment.

We have a chocolate bar in Australia called a 'Cherry Ripe'. It's dark chocolate on the outside and filled with cherries on the inside - your ice cream reminds me of it a lot. I love how this is no churn and can be so quickly made. I have a hand-crank machine with the ice and rock salt and that was always brought out for kid's birthday parties. I also have the one with the bowl you put in the freezer but I don't use it because of the space it take up in the freezer and the time it takes to freeze the bowl - it's never ready when you are! And like you, I'd like a 'proper' machine but where would I put it! This is a wonderful solution xx

I just bought some 'gingerbread' spice here in Paris, which we learned to make ice cream with at the Cordon Bleu school. However, the recipe calls for an ice cream maker. Maybe I can use your recipe and use my gingerbread flavouring instead!

Oh my, this is so so lovely my fav combination cherry and dark chocolate. I can go wild with your recipe. I do not have an ice cream machine due to kitchen space problem too but was thinking of getting one this summer as I am dying to make gelato. Your recipe makes me crave ice cream but we are fasting now so I have to wait till it is night time :). Gorgeous recipe by all means and I might go for the whole can of condensed milk hahaha.

I haven't made ice cream like this for a loooong time. Thanks for the post reminding me that I don't need to make room in my overcrowded freezer for that &@%# bowl! I'm a chocolate cherry freak too...so this one's going to the top of my "must make list." :)

Hi Pamela, yeah, the overcrowded freezer is another reason to dislike those freezer-bowl ice cream makers! We always had to make room for it in ours. And they're so bulky! You'll enjoy this. Thanks for the comment.

Hi Holly, the texture of this is great! Particularly within 24 hours after you make it (after that it can get a bit icy, but nothing that taking it out of the freezer 10 minutes before you want to serve it won't cure). This is really so good. ;-) Thanks for the comment.